The 165th Clone Battalion
by HorizonNB
Summary: Set in the Clone Wars following the 165th Clone Battalion under Commander Horizon and Jedi General Braven (OC). Features appearances from characters such as Captain Rex, Omega Squad and many more.
1. Chapter 1: The 165th

Chapter One – The 165th

The Kaminoans trained us well, trained us to be the greatest killing machines the galaxy ever saw and for those chosen to be trained in the command school, we were taught to be stronger, smarter, better than our brothers. And it worked. However the difference between us and the droids we face daily, we feel for our fallen, no amount of training can makes us lose that part of ourselves, that special part in our brain that causes us to mourn when we lose someone, they didn't account for that for when we went into active combat, it's easy to brush of a casualty when it's done by a training droid with a stun blaster but when I was deployed on Geonosis with the rest of the 165th, it was worse than I could imagine, worse than the simulations could ever predict.

I froze when I saw a soldier fall and not get back up. _Flip _was his name, we called him that after his first Citadel run where he won his squad the round and celebrated by doing a backflip off the tower, he would have broken his legs if he wasn't caught by his squad leader. When we landed to save the Jedi from the arena, he was the first one out of the LAAT after receiving orders from General Yoda and was hit in the chest by one of the droidekas and like that he was dead. We lost a lot more that day and have lost even more since. I don't remember all of them.

It's been several months since then, the 165th has been grounded on Coruscant for most of the time with only a few skirmishes acting as backup to other battalions such as aiding the 501st and 212th on their fight on Christophsis but now the Republic is calling back all battalions not currently on missions, word is that due to the increase in attacks from the Seps that they need all battalions out there fighting off the droids across the galaxy, here's hoping we don't get stuck on some dust ball on our own and we can actually see some action.

The war conference included nearly every Commander, ARC Trooper and Commando that the Republic still had standing, no one could just join via a communicator under the threat of a Separatist hacker listening in. In the couple of hours before it started it was good to catch up with some of the guys like Rex, Cody and the Omega guys while Flex, the 165ths ARC Trooper, got to reunite with the Null ARCs that he met during his training. Rex caught me up on the matters with what happened after Christophsis during the attack on Teth, after the conference he had to go pick up his reinforcements due to almost all of Torrent dying on the attack, poor guy, the 501st haven't had the best luck during the war so far.

As for the conference itself, the 41st are being sent to Rodia based on reports on a droid presence, Rex and Cody need to inspect certain posts before the 501st get their new troops and in a few weeks the 212th are going to Ryloth with the 187th after General Skywalker breaks the blockade. Other than that however, the 165th has been assigned to taking over Ando, a large droid army has moved in and the local militia have requested aid from the Republic in exchange for support throughout the war. To aid us in the assault, Omega squad will be joining us as their mission to assassinate a corrupt Ando politician leaves us needing each other for our missions.

Sending Flex to give the mission briefing to the troops and set them on double training shifts until we reach Ando, I call my second in command Captain Chance to meet me in the hanger of our flagship **_The Retribution _**so we could take an inventory of our fighters and walkers.

_"We've got 132 functional bombers with 159 fighters, as well as 20 ARC-170s." _Said Chase.

_"And how are we doing on LAATs?" _I asked.

_"Currently we have 39, we lost one on Mimban and haven't gotten it replaced yet."_ Chase replied.

_"Yeah... I remember, what about walkers?" _I ask, hoping to quickly move past the conversation regarding Mimban.

_"We're looking pretty good it seems, all 40 of our AT-RTs are fine, as well as our 20 BARC speeders. We've also got 4 AT-TEs however one is still a bit banged up, give the Engineers a couple days and it'll be good as new. Our 4 walker transports are also still functional."_ Chase states.

_"That's actually really good, how about the other two Venators in the fleet?" _I ask.

_"Uh **The Fortitude** and **The Guardian **are yet to transmit their inventory numbers, I can go ask Admiral Rhodes to comm you when we get them, if they got their orders they should have them ready for when we exit hyperspace." _He says.

_"Good idea, go tell Rhodes and after go get some rest, I need you ready the second we reach Ando so we can get troops down and form a base, whatever the militia have ready for us won't hold off a full Separatist attack. I'm going to go over our plan with Omega and see if they need anything for their mission." _I say.

With that Chase salutes and walks off towards the elevator to the bridge while I go to the opposite one that goes to the troop quarters. As I walk down the corridors, I see a swarm of troops in their body suits rush past. 'They must be heading to the gym under Flex's orders.' I think as I pass them all, some giving me nods, slight salutes or just grins until I reach Omega squads temporary bunks near those of Horizon's, as well as the squads of Flex, Chance and Det.


	2. Chapter 2: Omega Squad

Chapter 2 – Omega Squad

I don't know what I expected to see walking into the Omega bunks, but I do know that they've only been on the ship for 30 minutes and have already managed to not only break their bunks but also shoot up the room. It's hard to recognise them in their matte black armour but this time they had their buckets off, Darman was holding back Atin who was attempting to swing his vibroblade at Fi who himself was pinned to the ground by Niner keeping Fi just out of reach of a half-opened basket.

_"__IT'S MINE YOU KRIFFING SHABUIR!" _Screamed Atin, attempting to get out of Darman's grasp.

_"__Only way you're getting it is by me shoving it up your shebs!" _Taunted Fi, almost ignoring Niner and still reaching for the mystery basket.

_"__Atin, ner vod, put the knife away before someone needs to go to the medbay." _Warned Darman hoping to defuse the situation before it either got bad, or someone noticed. Unfortunately for Omega, they got noticed.

The four commandos were shocked by a sudden and surprising whistle coming from the door, simultaneously they snapped their heads towards the door staring at the Commander in his shiny blue and gold kit, minus the helmet which was tucked under his arm. Niner was the first to get a grip, he let go of Fi and stood at attention, Darman got the message next and followed suit releasing Atin to the ground. The remaining two took slightly longer due to being face flat on the floor but still attempted to show some respect to the Commander, even if Atin never did put away the blade.

_"__Anyone wish to tell me why in the kriffing force I have broken furniture and scorched walls or should I ask for Delta to replace Omega on this mission because they would be better suited guarding Senator Binks on his mission to Corellia?" _Horizon yelled, not really that angry, mostly just wanting to scare the commandos into explanation.

_"__I would honestly prefer a firing squad sir" _Said Fi, kriffing Fi, always had a joke up his gauntlet. He was a lot like Flex. Both were cocky, lighthearted, and boastful. Luckily for the two of them, they earned the right to boast about their skills, the two of them were terrific soldiers, but that just got on peoples nerves more.

_"__That could be arranged private, but lucky for you, I enjoy your company and wouldn't dare subject you to deal with the Gungan. Nonetheless, what happened men?"_ Said Horizon, instantly shredding the angry Commander attitude, it really didn't fit him.

_"__I'll tell you sir, you've met our Sergeant, Kal Skirata, right?" _This was Niner, Horizon liked Niner, mostly because he was able to keep Omega in check and was very intelligent, always fun to have a conversation with over a drink.

_"__Once or twice yes, seemed a good man, why?"_ Horizon said.

_"__He likes to see us when we are on Corrie due to how rare it is, and he also likes to spoil us. So he got us all a nice UJ cake each. Fi here ate his the second he was given it and tried to take Atin's when he was in the fresher." _Explained Niner.

Darman continued, _"And apparently Atin here became a Jedi during our time at Corrie because in an instant he came running out attacking Fi. Niner and I have been holding them back for 15 minutes now, with Atin occasionally getting loose and taking a swing at Fi. Had Fi not been wearing his armour, Atin would have shattered his ribs." _Horizon _really _liked Darman, he had all of the best qualities of all of Omega, the professionalism of Niner, the light hearted nature of Fi and

when required, the seriousness of Atin. Omega trusted Horizon with the secret of Etain, Darman's girlfriend, I guess? On top of that she was also a Jedi general, it meant a lot to Horizon that the squad trusted him with the secret.

All Horizon could do was sigh _"Niner do me a favour and hold back Fi" _The man did it with lightning reaction, Fi didn't have the time to react and was stuck. _"Darman pass me the basket." _Darman looked to Atin in case he would try to intervene but he just looked blankly at the Commander, he gave up and picked up the basket and passed it to Horizon.

_"__Here you go Atin" _Horizon reached into the basket, Atin almost looked worried at what Horizon would do but was glad to be passed the carefully wrapped cake, _"Darman you better go help Niner because Atin, you're going to need to eat that now." _Fi almost managed to break out of Niner's grasp but thankfully had Darman to help hold him. Atin walked right up to Fi and slowly ate every crumb of the Mandalorian delicacy. Horizon was even worried that he'd have to step in and help contain Fi, he was almost too much for two commandos. Once the cake was all gone Fi gave up and just sank. But eventually rose realising to forget the cake.

_"__Thanks sir"_ Said Atin, with a shit eating grin that was uncommon for him plastered on his face. Atin was an odd one, his name meant stubborn in Mando and he sure lived up to that... No matter how many times he was told that being stubborn was a compliment for Mandalorians it didn't change that the commando was still a tough son of a Hutt. Nonetheless Horizon also liked Atin, especially since he got a girlfriend named Laseema, a Twi'lek that he met a couple of months ago. He certainly has changed since he last saw him.

_"__No problem vod, I sure missed the lot of you, it's good to see you guys again."_ Cheered Horizon

_"__Likewise brother, now, what do you lot say we go get some food in the mess before we plan our missions? I'm starving and haven't eaten anything after giving my cake to Fi"_ Said Darman.

_"__Yeah su- Wait. You gave your cake to Fi? So did I! He wouldn't shut up until I did."_ Said Niner, about ready to pound Fi several floors below the bunks.

_"__Fi you were seriously trying to eat all four cakes?"_ Growled Atin, Fi was at this point almost cowering behind Horizon, hoping he would protect him from his squad.

_"__Lads it's over. But good idea Darman, let's head to the mess"_ Said Horizon. The squad decided to move past it and cheered as they began to leave, Fi being the last one but was grabbed by Horizon. The rest of Omega turned to see what was happening.

_"__Not you Fi, I need you guys in good condition. So as punishment for eating 3 full cakes, you get to join Flex's training for the rest of the day"_ Horizon said, grinning at Fi with the rest of the squad in tears laughing behind him, even Niner was laughing. Horizon activated his comlink _"Flex it's Horizon, got you a rookie that needs to work off the fat for the rest of the day."_

Complete silence on the other end for a few seconds, _"it's Fi isn't it..."_ This didn't help the rest of Omega, by this point Darman was on the floor.

_"__Correct Flex, have fun. And send someone to bring replacement bunks to Omega's room."_

_"__On it sir."_ Laughing was heard on the other end of the call before Horizon closed the link and sent Fi sulking towards the training room with Horizon and the rest of Omega laughing at him until they split up into different directions.

It really was good to see them again.


	3. Chapter 3: Story Time in the Mess

Chapter 3 – Story time in the Mess

Horizon and three quarters of Omega entered a mess hall full of brothers, these must be the lads not in training currently. All the troopers in the room snapped their heads to their Commander and Omega, not every day you see a squad of Commandos in near full Katarn armour in the mess but it seemed the troops were willing to let Omega have a meal and not be bombarded with questions. The four grabbed trays of what can barely be called food and sat down at a vacant table.

It only took 5 minutes before a group of about 7 clones walked up to their table, Horizon recognised only two of them, the other five were still in their shiny white armour. The two he did know were Lieutenant Det and Corporal Tomm. Surprisingly enough, they seemed to be seeking Horizon's attention instead of bugging Omega.

_"__Pardon me sir, I was showing the new squad around the ship and when we saw you in the mess I thought you'd like to meet them" _Said Det, good ol' Det, bit of a stickler for the regs but hand the man some heavy ordinance and he'll forget all about the rules for a short while.

_"__Ah of course, forgot we received more men. Sorry about that lads, what's your names?"_ Asked Horizon, getting up to meet his new soldiers.

The man in the middle of the 5 new soldiers stepped forward and brought his hand up to his brow to salute the Commander. _"At ease soldier"_ Horizon said. The man brought his arm back down and relaxed.

_"__Pleasure to meet you Commander, I'm Edge"_ He indicated to the 2 on his left, _"This is Torch and Tipper"_ Then to his right _"And this is Kor and Trail"_

_"__Good to meet the lot of you, I understand you are joining the Lieutenant and Corporal's squad right?"_

_"__Yes sir, we're eager to earn the gold and blue that the men wear into battle"_ This was from Torch. So it seemed they saw Edge as the leader and Torch was a second, interesting but might be difficult for them to report more to Det and Tomm.

_"__I imagine you will Torch, all of you. Sit with us, I want to hear more about you."_ Offered Horizon.

Omega seemed willing to let the squad join them, they even seemed interested in the shinies.

_"__Not much to hear sir, we only just got off Kamino"_ Said Trail. Force, this was going to get confusing, these boys need some paint on them soon.

_"__Then tell me about Kamino, tell me about the Citadel challenge, what squad were you, who were your trainers?"_ Asked Horizon, he was hoping to extract as much information about them as possible.

_"__Not trying to brag sir but we were the best in our unit, we were called Bravo team and were lucky enough to be reviewed by ARC Troopers, specifically Commander Colt. He said we beat the citadel in what he called 'ARC Trooper time'. As for trainers we had Bric and Ellis, do you know them?"_ This was Edge again, it was hard for him to not boast, they truly were proud of their accomplishments.

_"__Ah Bric and Ellis, Bric was a tough guy but made good soldiers and Ellis had good instincts. If you were their best, then Colt was probably right."_ Horizon said, whether they were that good or not, he had to see for himself. But it was good to make them feel better. _"Well you joined at a good time, we'll need good troopers for Ando, it's going to be a fight and a half, the militia down there wouldn't stand a chance without us so we need to retake their planet for them."_

_"__Sir, forgive me if I am overstepping but..."_ This seemed to be Kor, Horizon was intrigued now. _"How did __that__ happen?"_ He pointed to Horizon's left lower arm. At his robotic arm.

Everyone now just stared at Horizon, except Edge and Kor. Edge scowled at Kor as if he had just already screwed everything up for them while Kor just looked down, ashamed at possibly offending his new Commander. Horizon stared at his own arm, he realised how rarely he thinks about it now, he looks at Kor, noticing his shame and finally answered _"Hey it's fine, no offence taken Kor. You boys really want to know what happened to me?"_ He asked, putting on a brave face.

Bravo looked to Kor to answer the question _"Y-Yeah, what happened?"_ He asked.

Horizon signed, during the short minute it seemed a few more realised something was happening and crowded the table, this only brought more. What was just 4 clones turned to 11 with the addition of Det and his squad, now there seemed to be 20+ listening to Horizon's story, most of which already knew what happened.

_"__A few months back, it was our first real big engagement against the Seps after Geonosis, however we didn't know it was going to be a large attack, we just thought it was a small outpost garrisoned by a small force on Mimban. We were accompanied by a portion of the 212__th__ with Commander Cody and General Kenobi as well as General Skywalker and Commander Tano. Skywalker, Kenobi and our own General Conn mentioned some of their force mumbo jumbo and left for their own mission to some temple while our Jedi Commander Braven and Commander Tano were left with us to deal with the outpost." _More clones showed up, and Bravo were focused intensely on Horizon.

_"__Intel for the most part was true, the outpost was nearly empty, we lost a couple men, as did the 212__th__ but compared to losses other battalions face it wasn't bad." _Horizon breathed in sharply _"Then the Commander got a call, we expected it to be Conn telling us that it was all clear and that we should prepare to ship out. But we were wrong... so wrong. The Sith Assassin Ventress was on the other end, the whole operation was a trap. She had Skywalker, Kenobi and Conn unconscious and bound. Her goal was to taunt Braven and Tano into coming to save their masters. It only took seconds for Cody to rush into the room we were in to let us know of the incoming Separatist attack. We thought it was a fleet but no, they had them already on the planet surrounding us. Cody rushed to take charge of the defence so we could figure out how to save the generals."_

Chase appeared at Horizon's side, offering a comforting hand to his Commanders shoulder, someone must have told him what was happening. Horizon continued.

_"__We only had a couple speeders, we couldn't send a larger force out in time before we were surrounded. Braven and Tano volunteered, I begged them to wait, wait until we could help them get the generals back... but the damn kids pulled rank on me and I couldn't get Cody over quick enough to overrule them. They raced off to confront Ventress while we dealt with the droids. I couldn't think straight for the entire battle, and it cost us. I couldn't get my mind off the safety of the Commanders or Generals and because of it, more men died. If Cody wasn't there to pull me back together and focus it would have been even worse. But even more importantly, had Flex and Det not been there we'd have all died that day." _Everyone looked to Det, luckily Flex wasn't in the room to bear the attention, the only time he would have hated it. Det just looked defeated, he knew the story, he knew what happened and still couldn't face it.

Again, Horizon continued _"Before the attack I send Flex's squad and Det's squad out to scout for more droids, it wasn't their fault, if the droids could be found, they would have found them." _This was more to put Det at ease, but obviously wasn't working. _"The two squads outside of the encirclement drew as much attention towards them as possible so that us inside the circle would have an easier time, our combined forces managed to punch a hole into the droid wall. But it cost Flex his entire squad, the same for Det minus Tomm." _Kor looked more guilty than ever, now Tomm couldn't look any of his brothers in the eye either, only occasionally glanced at Det.

And again, Horizon would continue _"Cody told me to make a run for it and get the Jedi back home while he held down the fort, the smoke and covering fire provided me the perfect opportunity for me to escape the droids, I noticed someone following me. It was Flex, Det and Tomm, they didn't say a word, just ran alongside me. I didn't even question what happened to their squads, I could already tell by their silence. Once we made it to the temple we were still full of adrenaline and seriously angry for our fallen. I was ready to make Ventress eat detonator after detonator until there was nothing left." _This was the hardest part for Horizon, his head sunk.

_"__The first thing I saw as I walked in was Conn, he had a hole where his heart was and smoke still seeping out of both sides. Then I saw Commander Tano, alive but badly hurt, then I noticed Skywalker and Kenobi, barely conscious but still, alive. Lastly, I saw Braven and Ventress, locked in a fight with their lightsabers, I'd never seen him fight like that, you could feel the anger and hatred in the room. Ventress had the upper hand, clearly toying with Braven and when she was ready to deliver a blow, not fatal but would take him out of the fight, I didn't even think, I just took out my pistol and fired two shots at her." _Horizon gave a slight chuckle _"Want a tip lads? Don't shoot at someone with a lightsaber, one shot came back and hit my left shoulder and the other hit my blaster out of my hand."_

_"__Before I could warn the others not to fire she charged at me, all I could yell was 'SCATTER' hoping that they could get away in time. I dodged the first swing, then the second, and the third but right as the fourth was coming to take my head, a blue blade halted it's pursuit, the kid saved me which got Ventresses attention right back onto him, with her back turned to me and no weapons left I ran at her and she just pushed me to the side, no contact, some force trick."_

_"__I landed next to an old vibrosword, apparently this temple was from the Old Republic, I picked it up and again, ran to the sith. As I reached her she kicked Braven to the side letting me grab her attention again. Thankfully our trainers thought some melee training would do us some good, and good it did. Strike after strike I blocked and returned as many as I could. After a few minutes she started to regain the upper hand, she was too fast, she was able to predict every single attack and then- then she-" _Horizon let out a deep breath, this was it, Bravo realised what happened next.

_"__She knocked the sword away and sliced down, had I not moved in time I would have been split in half, but I wasn't fast enough. I felt every agonising fibre of flesh that was burning away from my body. I collapsed in shock, unable to take the pain. Fortunately, my 'plan' worked, the others were able to free Kenobi and Skywalker while Ventress was distracted." _Now Horizon only looked angry, he was rarely angry.

_"__Then that coward just up and ran, leaving her forces and escaping to brutalize clones more. Then there we were, Commander Tano barely moving, Braven about to collapse, Skywalker and Kenobi also barely standing. Flex, Det and Tomm looking defeated and tired, Conn's body now going cold and the smoke no longer over his body and then me, still on the floor, looking at my hand before I passed out from the pain." _Complete silence in the mess now, once thought to be impossible.

Kor looked at Horizon _"Sir I'm so sorry, I regret asking yo-"_

Horizon interrupted _"I'm not finished, I woke up here, on the Retribution in the medbay. There I learned what happened. Cody defeated the droids, of the 200 men I brought down, we lost 37 and of the 100 Cody brought down, he lost 68. That broke me even more, I heard that Cody put his men on the front, didn't want me losing men without me there to fight with them. That's a debt I'll never be able to repay."_

_"__When we got back to Coruscant, the Jedi had their funeral for Conn and a week later, Braven was made a Jedi Knight and became the new General of the 165__th__. I'm glad, I don't know what I would have done if the kid wasn't with us anymore. I'll never let what happened to Conn happen to him. I'd give my own life before I let him die."_

Usually after the story was told, there would be silence, however a familiar voice was heard behind him _"You won't need to Horizon." _Everyone turned their heads to the General, Horizon now feeling embarrassed that the General had to hear that, how much did he hear?

Horizon was still shocked when he saw the General, the kid that he met a year ago had now grown to be a 6'0 young man forced into his role in mere months. Braven wasn't like most jedi, he only ever wore the robes when at the temple, but when on the ship or fighting, he wore his own armour, a mix between Clone armour and Mandalorian armour that Horizon was yet to ask where it came from.

_"__General I-"_

_ "__It's fine Horizon, we need you and Chase on the bridge to discuss the mission." _He looked to Omega _"We'll need you guys soon as well, I'll give you a call when we do, make sure to grab Fi." _Said Braven in a soft voice.

Horizon and Chase stood saluting the General _"Sir yes sir!" _Omega remained seated but still saluted the General. Chase and Horizon followed the General out of the mess which left the troops still crowding the table to eventually disperse. Det took his squad back to the bunks, most likely to give them a talk which left Niner, Darman and Atin left at the table. They had heard the story before which is why they remained quiet. They decided to finish their food and head back to bunks until they were needed.

The war took it's toll on everyone, some more than others


	4. Chapter 4: Missions Briefing

Chapter 4 – Mission Briefing

Horizon really screwed up this time, Braven never should have heard what he said there, it wasn't right. He had to say something.

_"__Sir I think I should explai-" _Horizon said, clearly embarrassed.

_"__Horizon it's fine, we'll talk later but for now we need to focus on Ando, for the sake of the men." _Braven interrupted, he also seemed to be a bit embarrassed about the incident.

_"__Understood sir."_

They walked in complete silence towards the bridge until they met with Admiral Rhodes, a young man in his late 20s which was surprisingly young for an Admiral. _"Good you're here, we need to go over the plan, Horizon, you have the floor." _Said Rhodes. Horizon proceeded to walk towards the Command Table.

_"__Alright we've got a rough idea on the current defences of the Militia's base, however it isn't enough to repel a full droid attack, so we are going to be delivering ten crates of supplies, all containing things such as weapons to properly arm the militia, medical supplies and building supplies to reinforce the base." _Said Horizon

_"__And how do we plan to transport these supplies planetside?" _Asked Braven

_"__That's the issue, we need to use the walker transports to bring them down. I know we have 4 here on __**The Retribution**__ but how many do we have with the rest of our fleet Admiral?" _Asked Horizon

_"__We got the report 15 minutes ago, __**The Fortitude **__has four and __**The Guardian **__has three."_

_"__Great, so we only have one spare transport to bring down an AT-TE, that means that we'll be outgunned until those transports can be ready to bring more down." _Said Chase, clearly disgruntled in the state of the attack.

_"__It's dangerous but we need those supplies down first." _Said Horizon

_"__Okay so that's sorted, what about infantry? And air support?" _Asked Braven

_"__I suggest we use four squads of fighters and two squads of bombers to cover the entry of the transports." _Suggested Rhodes

_"__Good idea, we can't clog up the airspace too much, we'll send __**Stark Company **__down first. Chase, go get them ready, we've not got long." _Ordered Horizon

_"__On it sir" _Chase now left the bridge to prep the troops.

Horizon activated his comlink _"Omega, we need you lot on the bridge now"_

_"__We'll be there soon sir" _Said Niner

Ten minutes later Omega entered the bridge

_"__What's up?" _Asked Fi, red faced from his time in training

_"__You guys have a mission as well remember. Thought you'd like to go over the plan." _Said Horizon.

_"__We usually like to just wing it as we go" _Said Fi and followed with being punched in the arm by Darman

_"__Ignore him, what do you have?" _Said Niner

_"__We're sending a few squads of aircraft in first to limit LAAT casualties and supply loss. We're sending in 11 walker transports... but only one walker, the rest are being used to transport supplies. On top of that we're sending in __**Stark Company**__, Chance is getting his, Flex's and Det's squads ready for deployment, I'll be meeting my squad after this. If you want, you guys can come down as well, we'll need our best down first in case the droids use their temporary advantage." _Horizon explained.

_"__We'll be there, we can head down to the main hanger to wait for deployment now if needed" _Said Niner.

_"__Good to hear, before you go, any comments on the plan?" _Asked Horizon.

_"__If we really need the fire power down there quickly, why not just bring the Venator closer to the surface? Either land it or close enough so that the transports can make the trips in a fraction of the time."_ Questioned Atin.

_"__Not a bad idea ner vod but the problem is this..." _Horizon gestured to a point that is believed to be a heavy Separatist outpost. _"The seps have quite a few anti aircraft guns as well as several heavy cannons, if we bring the fleet into Ando's atmosphere then they'll get blown to bits." _Atin nodded in agreement.

_"__If that's all you should be on your way Omega, you also need to prep your squad Horizon. Rhodes, I trust you can organise our fighters?" _Said Braven.

_"__Of course General, I'll make sure to give you a warning before we exit hyperspace, should only be another hour." _Said Rhodes.

_"__Understood. Commander, you should go now to prep Gold Squad" _Said Braven. Horizon followed with a swift salute as he and Omega exited the bridge via the lift.

Horizon reached the bunks walking past Flex, Chance and Det, all three moving their squads towards the hanger preparing for the mission. Once Horizon reached his bunks the first thing he saw was his squad spread out in the room wearing all if not most of their armour. He analysed all of them in their unique states.

Tek the second in command of Gold Squad was sitting on his bunk in full kit minus his helmet fiddling with a data pad as he usually was. It was difficult to get the man away from any technology that he could get his hands on but that often came in handy for the squad.

Other than Tek, Ash has been with Horizon the longest and is the squads own Scout. While the others joined the squad at different points throughout the war, Horizon, Tek and Ash have been together since Geonosis. Ash was in the corner getting some light exercise in before the fight as he often did, always wanted to be ready to move efficiently in an instant if given the order and liked being in peak physical shape.

Griff was still missing some of his leg plates and belt, he was infatuated with his Z-6 Rotary Cannon, Horizon just decided that was a good characteristic for the squads heavy gunner. Griff was even somehow slightly bigger than most clones, apparently some were lucky enough to develop extra mass as a child in the vats which gave them a slight edge.

Crest, like Griff, was inspecting his gun, however Crest preferred a much more 'elegant' weapon as he put it, his DC-15x made him the squads sniper. He became good friends with Ash as a sniper and scout usually share the same qualities which made Horizon use them often for stealth missions. He was in full armour, he was often the first ready to move out in any situation.

Lastly there was Red and Blue, the two newest members of Gold Squad but they were far from being rookies, the two were the last survivors from their original batch when they were transferred to this squad. At the start when they lost their batch the two were broken, it affected them badly in the field, so badly Horizon had to verbally tear them apart after the battle, it was the only time Horizon really yelled at a brother but it had to be done, the two picked up the slack and proved themselves to be an effective unit, Horizon later transferred them to his squad to show how proud he was. Blue took an interest in becoming a medic and so he was given specialist training to become the Gold Squad medic. Red was calibrating his helmet and wrist plates while Blue was filling his backpack with medical supplies.

As they noticed him those without helmets gave him a kind smile while those with helmets gave him either a nod or they would pat themselves on the chest. They knew by now that Horizon didn't need any salutes or 'sirs' when they were in the bunks. Tek stood up clipping his data pad to his belt and slipped on his helmet, he then walked towards Horizon. _"Chance gave us the run down, what's the plan and how long until we depart?"_

**_"_****_Stark_**_are going to head down first with the supplies and a single AT-TE, we're going to make contact with the militia and let them build up the defences with the supplies that we're bringing. Also Omega are coming with us, we should probably start moving out now.__**" **_Said Horizon

The rest of the squad stood up, Red and Griff now finished with fitting their armour. _"Alright boys let's move out, the rest of __**Stark**__ are waiting in the hanger and I'd rather not leave the mission up to them. Single file on me, double time it." _The squad followed the order and move out in an instant, jogging towards the main hanger weapons in hand in perfect sync.

Upon reaching the hanger the squad were instantly greeted by the squad leads of the other squads.

_"__About time you guys made it, I was worried we'd need to give Chance command of the mission" _Boasted Flex.

_"__I'd still do a much better job than you di'kut" _Joked Chance.

_"__Thank you for coming sir, I couldn't put with these two for much longer." _Pleaded Det.

As the group laughed they were approached by a clone in a pilots armour.

_"__LAATs are all ready sir, the Admiral is ready to send the fighters the moment we drop out of hyperspace." _The clone said.

_"__Good to hear Hull, you ready for this? Flak might be tough once we reach the atmosphere." _Asked Horizon.

Hull scoffed jokingly _"Sir, you have the greatest pilot in the GAR giving you the first class treatment here, believe me, we'll be fine. Besides, it's the fighters I'm more worried about, they'll be taking the majority of the fire to protect us."_

_"__You're not wrong vod, with any luck they'll all be fine." _Horizon said, knowing full well that the odds of that were slim to none.

Horizon's comlink started beeping, he activated it and set it on speaker to allow his brothers to listen. **_"Commander, we've dropped out of hyperspace, I suggest you get your squads ready to move out any moment. The fighters are beginning to launch. Once you exit the hanger the supplies transports will follow."_**

_"__Thank you Admiral, what about the General?"_

Another voice cut into the link **_"I'm leading the fighters into Ando for backup, once you guys land I'll meet you down there as soon as I can. Braven out."_**

_"__That answers that question"_ Joked Horizon

"**Most certainly does, good luck Commander, come back in once piece won't you.**" Said the Admiral before Horizon and those with him laughed and closed the call.

_"__You heard the man get moving troopers!" _Shouted Horizon, as they men began moving Omega appeared behind him. Late as always.

_"__Sorry sir, Darman and Fi left their weapons at the shooting range"_ Said Niner

_"__It's fine but get a move on, you guys are riding with Gear and Dodge, they're the second LAAT from us. Try not to piss them off alright, they're two of my best pilots." _Said Horizon

The squad saluted him with a synchronised _"Sir yes sir" _before they put on their helmets and ran to the ship. Horizon followed but got in his own greeted by the rest of Gold Squad. _"Ready Commander?" _Asked Blue.

_"__You have no idea Blue, finally we get a battle to prove ourselves instead of playing backup"_

_"__You said it sir, time to scrap some clankers!" _Cheered Griff, this led to a continuing cheer from the rest of the squad.

_"__It'll be a piece of cake lads, once we make it back drinks at 79s are on me" _Cheered Blue

A voice came over the ships intercom **_"If you boys are done celebrating, it's time we set out for Ando. Hull and I are dying for a flight." _**Said Catcher, the other pilot with Hull for the Gold Squad LAAT.

"You're right Catcher, let's get a move on" Horizon activated his comlink _"LAAT gunships 1-5, radio check."_

_"__Gunship 1, Hull and Catcher ready."_

_"__Gunship 2, Gear and Dodge here sir"_

_"__Gunship 3, Blitz and Odds reporting"_

_"__Gunship 4, Crash and Ace ready to fly"_

_"__Gunship 5, Eye and Cannon we read you sir"_

_"__Great to have you guys today, you are clear for lift off. Try to get us down in once piece so Rhodes doesn't need to scrape us off the ground" _Horizon joked.

This was it. The chance that the 165th needed to show that they could handle a real conflict, any battalion could fend off an army of droids, most could even push an army against all odds. The hard part of the 165ths mission was the train the militia to fight for themselves, that would be the real challenge. Nonetheless, Horizon knew his boys were ready, despite being sidelined and being send on tag along missions throughout the war, the 165th had some of the best troops in the Republic, now it was time to show why they wore the gold.


	5. Chapter 5: Ando

Chapter 5 – Ando

Horizon felt that same familiar jolt when the gunship entered the atmosphere, Red nearly fell over still not adjusted to the jump but he had Blue to catch him.

_"__Watch it Ner Vod, there's going to be worse than a small shake when we get down there" _Joked Blue.

_"__I'm fine just lost my footing" _Said Blue, slightly annoyed at Blue's overbearing nature.

Catcher came through over the com link "**_Hull was right Commander, flight is pretty straightforward here, doesn't look like we're going to see much resistance thanks to the fighter support._**"

"_Doesn't mean we're free Catcher, at any moment a fighter or enemy cannon could catch sight of us and take us down._" Said Horizon

The peace lasted seconds until Hull came over the comms, _"__**Fighter on our tails, gunships take evasive actions!**__"_

_"__You had to jinx us didn't you sir…" _Said Griff

_"__Calm it Griff, we'll be alright" _Said Tek

_"__Walker Transports, get those crates down now, we can't risk losing even one." _Ordered Horizon. One by one the transports began descending, hoping to not pick us unnecessary attention by being high and obvious. The LAATs stayed their course.

_"__**Ace here, the fighter's picked us as its target, it's getting too close we can't escape it**__" _Yelled Ace

_"__Descend Ace, our fighters are too far away to help you in time. You need to get at the lowest possible altitude." _Said Horizon

"**On it sir, but this droid is persistent, not got much more ti-**" An explosion was heard. _"__**Kriff it hit us, we're going down!**__" _

_"__Ace! Crash! Flex!" _Horizon Pleaded _"Chaos squad respond… Chaos please respond, anyone there?" _There was nothing but silence on the other end. Horizon punched the door of the LAAT in anger _"Flex no… no, no, no, not Flex. Kriff…"_ Said Horizon, on the verge of sobbing from losing his lifelong friend.

Tek grabbed his shoulders _"Sir, we don't know they're dead, we need to send a team out to get them. Flex has survived much worse than this and his squad are some of the toughest in the battalion, it's likely they're fine but we need to find them."_

Horizon sighed _"You're right Tek, they probably are. Omega, once we hit the ground, Atin and Darman will try to find Chaos, I'll send Ash and Crest with you."_

_"__**Understood sir, we'll find them**__" _Replied Darman.

The remainder of the ride was silent, no one wanted to say anything either in the gunships or over comms in case someone from Chaos tried to make contact, Horizon had to push that aside as they now reached the surface inside what the Ando Militia called a base. As he stepped out, he saw a hard and cold terrain with small patches of snow. The base that the Militia had set up consisted of mostly stone walls with some metal walls at key places, none the less, the base would clearly not withstand an attack for very long, the Republic sent them supplies to form durasteel walls that could take more of a beating thankfully, as well as makeshift 'buildings' for both the 165th and the Militia.

Noticing the Militia, Horizon took note that nearly all were unarmoured, wearing only their civilian clothing armed with hunting rifles and the occasional pistol. The Republic aimed to fix this by delivering them a shipment of the Republic's own DC-15A and the DC-15S to arm them, leaving the 165th to train them in using the new equipment. Horizon also noticed the surprising combination of species that formed this militia, Ando was the home world of the Aqualish species, but it seemed that the Militia mostly consisted of Humans and the occasional Twi'Lek. He noticed a human male walking towards him, he was one of the few that was armoured but was still only carrying a hunting rifle.

_"__CC-1202?" _The man asked.

_"__That's me, but just call me Horizon, we might be clones but we prefer to use our names. Speaking of which, who might I be talking to?" _Asked Horizon.

_"__Names Daemon, I'm the leader of the resistance. I'm thankful for the support Horizon." _He looks behind the Commander and points _"Those our supplies?"_

Horizon looks towards the walker transports _"Correct, 10 crates of supplies ranging from food to weapons to building supplies." _

"_Good, I wasn't sure we'd be able to last much longer. What's the plan then?_" Asked Daemon, surprising that a person not in the military would treat the clones with respect.

"_First matter of business is recovery, one of our squads was shot down and I'm going to send a few men out to find them, any chance you have a couple of scouts to help with this_?" Explained Horizon.

"_Of course,_" He motioned to two of the men behind him "_Tirri, Alec, you two go with the men to find their missing soldiers."_ The two men looked to Horizon for indication on where to go, he just pointed in the direction of Darman, Atin, Ash and Crest who were all looking readily at the Commander waiting for the go ahead.

"_Move out when you're ready, I want a report the second you find anything, understood_?" Ordered Horizon.

_"__Yes sir!"_ The squad said as they saluted before moving out with the two Militia Scouts.

_"__Next order of business is the state of this base, I assume you have builders here." _Said Horizon.

"_Of course, we'll have them start building up our defences in no time, we should be finished within a day or two._" Explained Daemon.

"_Good to hear, next we have to get you guys some weapons, luckily we brought you guys some of our DC-15As and some DC-15Ss, we might even have some extra surprises in the form of a couple rocket launchers and some rotary cannons. How many men do you have and I'll have my Captain start training yours."_ Said Horizon 

_"__Thank you, we wouldn't do much against the droids with our current weapons, we have near 300 stationed at this base, however across the continent we have an additional 800 men stationed either within towns/cities or at outposts and that's just our men, not counting other resistance groups. The people are scared, they won't join unless we start winning, I have a feeling now that you and your men are here things will start to turn." _Said Daemon.

"_Not the best numbers but we can work with it. And don't worry, me and my men will take back this planet. By the way, I notice that there's only a handful Aqualish in your army, why?_" Asked Horizon.

"_Since the government joined with the Separatists and Aqualish loyalists were put in complete charge of the government, the non Aqualish citizens of Ando which make up over 60% of the population have been oppressed. We've lost our jobs, our homes, some of us even lost our families. Some of the Aqualish have sided with us but those that have I station in the cities hoping they will aid us more from the inside. We just want things to go back to normal, that requires kicking out the Separatists and fixing the government._" Explained Daemon.

_"__I'm sorry to hear that, but as I said, me and my brothers will take back this world." _Said Horizon, hoping to reassure the man.

"_Thank you, we should probably get to work now, I'll direct the builders to get the base fortified._" Said Daemon.

"_Understood, I need to coordinate with my Admiral to get more forces down here ASAP as well as oversee our forces. Comm me if you need anything_" He said as he grabbed Daemons hand to enter in his comm code before walking off to speak with Chase.

"_Orders sir?_" Said Chase, as Beta, Demo and the rest of Gold and Omega squads were standing behind him.

"_Chase, I need you and Beta setting up firing ranges and drills for these soldiers, in their current state they'll never hold off a Seppy attack without us, we need them in fighting shape._" Chase quickly saluted before running off with Beta towards the weaponry crates to begin distribution. "_Det your boys are still untested as of yet and I'd like them to get into shape before a fight, have them training separately from the Militia but close enough so they see what they could potentially be._"

"_Got it, move it shinies._" Yelled Det towards his new rookies.

"_Gold, Omega, you guys are down a few men and we're down a squad, these aren't ideal circumstances but I need Omega setting up a perimeter in case of an attack, obviously two men can't do that even if you are Commandos, ask Daemon to spare any men he can._" The Commandos simply nodded and walked off towards the command tent. "_Tek, Griff, you guys coordinate with the tank crews and get them into a decent position, after that help with the base construction, most of these guys have never seen the equipment we've brought in and I'd rather they not break it. While Blue, Red, I need you two setting up a medbay, we're going to get into a lot of scraps and we'll need a place to patch up the wounded." _The four men saluted before walking off in their respective directions.

Horizon begged for a moment or peace, just a few minutes, but he knew that now wasn't the time to relax, he still had a planet to save. He commed Admiral Rhodes. "_Admiral, do you copy?_" He asked

_"__I copy Horizon, I lost contact with Chaos' gunship, what happened?" _Asked the Admiral

_"__They got shot down, I've sent some men out to find them, they'll be alright, I know they will" _Reassured Horizon

"_I know they will, but I still worry. Anyway, what's the next matter of business?_" Questioned the Admiral

_"__We need to get the rest of __**Stark Company**__ down, other than the single fighter, the skies were clear, send down Platoon 2, 3 and 4 now and keep a squad of fighters to accompany them to prevent another crash" _Said Horizon

"_Understood, giving the order to Lieutenants Will, Quill and Saber, they'll be boots on the ground within the hour_" Said Rhodes

"_Good to hear, Horizon out_" He said as the closed communications. He slumped his shoulders finally allowed a second to breath and take in what's happened, he looks around the camp already seeing the Militia and Stark Company hard at work preparing for the upcoming battles, a lot of the men and women he saw before him would die soon, some of his own men as well, nothing he did could change that. But he'd try his best to save as many as he could even if it meant giving his own life for theirs, as was his duty. To the Republic. And to his men.


	6. Chapter 6: Man Down

Chapter 6 – Man Down

If anyone could survive a crash from an LAAT, it would be Flex and the rest of Chaos squad, they were the toughest and strongest of the 165th due to the rough rudimentary ARC training Flex gave them. They would find them, they had to, they had the Battalions best scout and sniper and two Commandos as well as two of the Militia's scouts who seemed competent enough and knew these lands better than the clones.

"_How far do you think we've got to go before we find them?"_ Asked Crest

_"__Based on how long we were still in the air between their crash and our landing, about 30 minutes, and the speed our LAATs, that means we're approximately 45 Kilometres, give or take a few, away from them" _Said Atin after seconds of working it out.

"_Impressive ner vod, that means we've got a good few hours before we'll find them and it's getting dark._" Stated Ash.

"_Doesn't matter, we'll not stop until we find them, they could be injured, and we can't leave them out in the dark like that_" Said Darman

"Agreed, let's pick up the pace" Said Crest, he looked to the Twi'lek and Human with them. "You guys let us know if you can't keep up, we're doing this together"

_"__We're fine, we might not be super soldiers like you guys but we've got the stamina and endurance to keep up with you guys" _Said the Human Alec.

_'__Guess we'll see if these guys are all talk or have the determination to prove themselves right, if it's true and the rest of the Militia show half that strength this war will be won much quicker.' _Thought Ash.

It had been over three hours since they set out, still nothing, the sun was now setting and the skies were getting darker and while no one wanted to admit it, faith in finding Chaos was dwindling. Ash finally called for a break, even the Commandos seemed tired, guess the Katarn armour was weighing them down, might by why the unarmoured Militia scouts were able to keep up. Tirri, the Twi'Lek volunteered to climb the large tree that the group stopped by to look for signs of the crash, or anything really, something to give them hope.

"They must be out here, men like Flex deserve to go out better than a crash, it's not right" Pleaded Crest, desperate for the return of his brothers.

"_We don't choose our deaths brother, plenty of good men will just go missing or die in a pointless fashion._" Said Atin, bluntly.

Darman punched him in the arm, even with the armour on, it still stung. "_Not the time Atin, can it._" He said, helmet off and staring his brother down. Atin responded simply by looking over to the two Gold Squad members, carefully taking off his helmet and walking off slightly. He knew what he said was wrong but didn't find it in himself to give an apology.

Crest sighed, "_I hate these missions, sometimes I regret becoming a scout, we always get these retrieve and rescue missions… a lot of the time there's nothing left to rescue._"

"_You'd rather the Commander gave Griff the assignment? That man's footsteps are louder than his Z-6, trust me, it's better that it's us and the Commander knows that, it's why he transferred you to the squad_" Said Ash, attempting at comforting his brother.

Crest chuckled "_I remember the day the Commander came to me, one month after Geonosis if I remember right. I was part of the reinforcements to fill the casualties from the battle. Just days after meeting General Conn and Commander Braven. I figured it was just dumb luck I was put in Gold Squad_"

"_It was no luck brother, the Commander wanted you specifically. You proved to be quite the over achiever in basic and continued that streak when you joined the 165__th__. I personally oversaw your file and put you forward to the Commander telling him that you'd be a fantastic fit._" Calmly said Ash.

Crest looked surprised "_Seriously ner vod?_" Ash nodded; Crest turned his gaze forward "_Thank you._" The two brothers needed no further exchange of words, they already made a good team but now their bond had been clearly strengthened by the revelation.

"_Sorry if we separated you from your batchmates, you never spoke about them._" Stated Ash

Crest chuckled "_They were the ones who convinced me to take the position. Told me I deserved the position and would do much better in the Commander's squad._"

Ash could guess what happened but had to ask, "_What happened to them?_"

Crest exhaled "_They weren't in __**Stark Company**__, they were still with __**Nexu**__, their squad was sent down with us during the skirmish on Mimban. Their entire squad was wiped out…_"

Ash put a comforting hand on his brothers' shoulder "_What were their names?_"

"Dex, Arthur, Deadshot and Walker. Walker died in my arms during the battle. That battle still haunts me, haunts a lot of the battalion."

"Your vod would be proud Crest, you're a hell of a soldier and a hell of a brother. Your old batch mates might be gone, but Gold Squad will always be there for you, as will the 165th." Said Ash, looking his brother in the eyes with a sympathetic and caring look before ruffling his brothers hair as you would to a younger brother. While they were all the same age, some like Flex and Ash always seemed like the older brothers, with Horizon the oldest of them all.

Darman smiled at the two, completely oblivious that he had just overheard their warming conversation. He stood up to join his brother.

Atin welcomed his company but sighed in defeat "_I shouldn't have said that, I know. I'll apologise to them_"

Darman again smiled "_Good to hear ner vod_" He slung an arm around his brothers' shoulder. "_I like these guys…_"

_"__You mean Crest and Ash?" _Questioned Atin

"_I mean the 165__th__ as a whole, they might be bucketheads but they're not like most of them, not brash and elitist like the Galactic Marines, not cruel or brainwashed like the 91__st__, these are some good lads._" Explained Darman "_Even their Jedi seems a lot better than the other Jedi out there, he's no General Jusik to be fair-_"

"Or General Tur-Mukan?" Interrupted Atin, small grin plastered on his face.

"_Don't make me punch you again vod_" Said Darman, holding back a laugh and clearly blushing.

Before either of them could continue the conversation, the Twi'Lek Tirri called down to them all, "_I see something, looks like smoke maybe 500 metres east of here, trees around it have been knocked down as well, this could very likely be where your men crashed._"

Everyone suddenly jumped with hope, Ash had already started running off before realising that they had to wait for Tirri to get back down, once he had they all began running, sprinting even. 500 meters wasn't a far distance, but the surrounding forest made it almost impossible to see something far away, however now they knew where they were going and could save their brother.

Once they passed the surrounding forest, they found a smouldering gunship with trees standing tall or broken to the ground around it, some also engulfed in flames. Grief immediately struck the scouting team, however hope filled them as they saw a group of white armoured figures huddled together not far from the wreckage.

Ash immediately ran to them. Barr the squads heavy gunner was the first to spot them "_Sarge, they've found us!_" He yelled gleefully.

Flex perked up and ran to the men, embracing both Crest and Ash. "_I knew he'd send someone, thank you vod._"

Crest removed his helmet "_Of course he did, are you guys okay?_" He asked.

Flex lowered his head, Crest looked past him to see Chaos squad doing the same. Atin and Darman walked past him towards the LAAT, walking towards two piles of rocks, they were graves. "_Who?_" was all he could say.

Flex looked up, _"__Crash and Ace, our pilots. We don't know what they did but they managed to get us down as safely as possible, but it cost them their lives. We've got injured as well, Dart's got a broken leg and unconscious and Clutch's got a concussion, but he's mostly recovered, Bled's doing what he can for them, but he needs a better environment and better supplies._" He explained.

Darman spoke up, "_We've got to get back, sun's going down and it'll take us hours to get back, much longer than it took us to find you if we're carrying wounded._"

"_Kriff he's right, comm the Commander, see if there's anything he can do._" Said Flex.

Ash opened his comm and connected with Horizon "_Sir it's Ash, do you copy? We've made contact with Chaos_"

"**_You have? That's great! What's their status?_**" Questioned Horizon.

Ash looked up towards Flex and the rest of Chaos, then at the dead pilots. "_Not good sir, I'm sorry but Crash and Ace are dead, we've also got wounded from Chaos but they're all alive."_

There was silence on the other end of the call, Horizon was clearly mourning the death of his men but pushed it away none the less. "**_Do you need assistance? We've been able to get the rest of Stark Company down as well as a few light vehicles. LAATs are currently unavailable due to an increase in enemy aircraft in the area but we can try send some transports._**"

"_That would be amazing sir, we've got 13 men here, one of them unconscious._"

_"__**We don't have that many BARCs on the ground and anything like an AT-TE would be too big and slow to transport you guys. I'll speak to the Resistance to see if they can secure some transport, wait one.**_" He said as he paused the channel and returned a few minutes later, "**_We've got some light civilian transports ready to pick you guys up. Transmit your location and they'll be with you shortly._**"

Ash was relieved, "_Thank you sir, see you soon_" he said as he transmitted the location and closed the channel.

Ash turned towards the rest of the men "_Transports are on the way boys, we'd better sit tight, they'll likely not be here for another 30 minutes to an hour._" There was no celebrating, no one really said a word. They all just sat in silence as Bled continued to work of Dart, replacing bandages and monitoring his vitals.

The silence continued until their evac arrived, a mix of resistance soldiers and clones that Ash couldn't recognise, they were likely members of a different platoon. Again, there wasn't much conversation on the drive back either. The men were grateful for the much shorter journey back to base. It looked much different than it did when they left. The shoddy walls and defences were now upgraded with strong metal and heavy cannons with armoured clones scattered on the walls as sentries. The area was also protected by heavy walkers and rough camouflage netting lightly concealing the base.

Both Crest and Ash wanted to speak to their commander but were informed that he was in a meeting with his Command team leaving Flex to join him in his tent. However, the two Gold Squad members were informed that their squad was permitted rest for the night which they gladly accepted. As they entered, Gold all seemed asleep, except for Blue who was likely still dealing with matters in the medbay but Tek suddenly perked up.

He looked at the two sorrowful, "_I… heard what happened, I'm sorry vod. But you still did good, Chaos are here because of you. Get some rest boys, this is only the beginning and we need our best ready for what's to come._" The two tired soldiers couldn't muster a point to counter with or some joke to end the night, they just collapsed in their bunks with their armour still on and passed out.


	7. Chapter 7: Planning the Campaign

Chapter 7 – Planning the Campaign

Horizon as usual was forced pulling an all nighter, it was common for him to stay up for several days during the early days of an OP fuelled purely by caf. He'd spent hours going over reports and upcoming plans for assaults leaving him very happy to be able to interact with his brothers now, even if it was just another Command meeting. His tent was now filled with the command team of the Resistance and all the platoon leads of **Stark Company** as well as Flex, Det and Chase as they went over current troop deployments and strategies.

Now that the base and command centre of their operations on Ando has been constructed and reinforced, they can now begin putting pressure on the seps and fight to regain control over the planet. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as just marching to the Capital and taking it as it's too heavily defended and still leaves a large droid presence on Ando. However, they decide that both **Stark Company **and **Nexu Company** will be the main force throughout the majority of the invasion while both **Avenger Company **and **Spartan Company** will be deployed around Ando to aid in raids and assaults on other targets such as seppy outposts, patrols, and factories. However, it would still be several days before the other Companies are able to be boots on the ground.

"_Will two companies really be enough to take on the brunt of the invasion?_" Questioned Lieutenant Will, Commanding Officer of Platoon 2, **Stark Company**.

"_It's not just us, the Resistance will back us up the whole way and they'll get better every day if we keep training them._" Answered Horizon.

"_Who's going to handle that?_" Asked Lieutenant Saber, Commanding Officer of Platoon 4, **Stark Company**, "_No offence to you Daemon or your men but my boys would rather be out there causing damage to the tinnies than training pups._"

"_No offence taken trooper. Believe me, me and my soldiers would much rather be doing damage with you, but we just need the training first to do it right._" Said Daemon.

Horizon scanned the room, he needed someone specific to oversee the training. As an ARC trooper, Flex was the obvious choice, but his squad contained the best soldiers in the Battalion, yes, they would train the resistance well, but their abilities would be more suited for advanced missions. Det's squad was also not an option, most of his squad were still shinnies that hadn't seen real combat yet, he needed veterans for this. He briefly considered having both his own squad and Chance's squad command the training but quickly disregarded it as while both squads were highly skilled, they belonged to both the senior officers of the battalion and were needed on the front lines.

Platoon One wasn't an option, he looked to the other Platoon Leaders, Saber already requested to not take this mission and Horizon decided to allow it, that left Will and Quill. While Will had seniority and was a talented leader, Horizon thought back to observations on how the Lieutenants trained their men, Quill was a much more lenient and compassionate officer. Many would see that as a weakness, Horizon instead saw it as a strength, especially in this situation as these resistance soldiers were not as advanced as the clones, they wouldn't progress as well with a tough leader and needed someone who was careful with them. His decision was made, Quill and Platoon Three will command the training of the Resistance.

"_Quill._" Said Horizon

Quill's head perked up "_Yes Sir?_" He asked.

"_I'm putting you and Platoon Three in charge of training the resistance in weaponry, combat, tactics, and anything else you deem necessary, go with Commander Daemon and organise it._" Ordered Horizon

Before Quill left Daemon spoke up _"Commander Daemon?"_ He questioned, looking puzzled

"_If your men are going to be a military force, it will have to be organised. That includes ranks. As leader you're the Commander, the men here with you will be your Lieutenants. Quill, make sure to set up squads and platoons, I'll leave the leads up to yourself, Daemon and his command staff._" Answered Horizon. Quill swiftly saluted, as did Daemon and his newly appointed Lieutenants before departing from the Command tent to organise the new Ando Army.

Horizon once again looked at the holomap for his next plan, there were plenty of targets to choose from however one stood out, he looked at Saber, then back at the map before speaking up. "_You up for a mission Saber?_"

A smirk plastered Saber's face "_A-firm sir, what you thinking_?" He said, as he stood up and walked next to Horizon looking over the map.

Horizon pointed at a small structure 50 clicks from the Resistance base, it was the closest target that the seps had to the base "_We need to knock out this base, no doubt the seps are already aware that we're here but with how close they are, intel will be too accurate and frequent coming from that base so long as it's operational, Daemon's scouts listed it as a communications centre but they couldn't get an accurate estimate on their numbers._"

Saber studied the map and layout of the small seppy base, while he was eager to jump into combat, he was a Lieutenant for a reason and was still a very skilled strategist "_I have to agree with you sir, that base needs to go, my boys can handle it, we'll move when it's dark, give us a bit of cover.._" He stated "_Will's men haven't spotted any droids from that direction, could be they don't have the numbers to risk sending them out yet._"

"_That was what I was thinking, it's best to make a move sooner rather than later before they reinforce their position._" Horizon then looked towards the side to view what resources they possessed and sighed "_I'd like to give you some tank support, but we only have 3 AT-TEs on the ground and we'll need the fire power if we're attacked. If we send one with you and the base is attacked, by the time it gets back the battle would be over._" Said Horizon, gently slamming his fist on the table, frustrated in how limited they were this early on.

"_No problem Commander, we'll get it done. Platoon Four should be enough_" Said Saber

"_Glad to hear it Saber, Platoon One will act as reinforcements if you need us, just comm and we'll be there._"

Flex snorted "_Try to leave some for us Saber, Chaos still wants some payback._"

Saber clapped him on the shoulder "_You'll be the first person I call._" He said as he then put on his helmet and walked out, off to prepare his Platoon for the assault.

Horizon looked to the remaining men, the remaining men being Flex, Chance, Det and Will. He chuckled briefly "_Afraid that means your platoon is stuck on patrol and guard duty for the foreseeable future Will_"

Will hung his head in despair "_Ah Kriff sir, alright I'll inform the men_" He said as he walked off in sadness, not looking forward to telling the men that not only do they not get to fight some droids, but they can't even just relax around the base until the time comes.

Finally Horizon looked to the squad leads for his Platoon. "_For tonight your squads can rest, but I want you all up and ready for when Platoon Three moves out. Chance can you organise enough speeders to be available for us if we will need to join them, include a squad of BARCs. Flex your squad will use the BARCs if we need to._" The men all nodded and left the tent to debrief their squads. Horizon let out a sigh of relief, glad he can now spend time with his Squad.

He first decided to stop off and the makeshift medbay to visit Blue, it seemed all the medics were working there. The medbay was nothing special, it had a few operating tables, a couple of bacta tanks and some storage containers for supplies, it wasn't a walled off area either, it was an open ground with a large tarp overhead protecting it from the weather. He quickly spotted Blue with Red sitting next to him, the two were inseparable. Bled was also there, likely unwilling to leave his injured squad mates' side. He recognised more medics, there was also West, the medic from Beta squad and a man in armour that wasn't yet painted, Horizon assumed it was the medic from the shinnies that just joined Demo squad but was unsure which one it was.

There were many others, while Horizon tried to meet all troopers that joined the 165th, he usually met them before they had the chance to paint their armour, so it was difficult to recognise them. He noticed a trooper in the back covered from head to toe in flames, definitely a design that Horizon would remember had he met the man before, he made sure to note that he would have to find out the story behind the flames one day, but today was about Gold Squad.

Red instantly perked up upon spotting the commander "_Commander! Finally, out of that meeting, got any news for us?_" He asked, excited.

Horizon smiled at the eagerness in the younger brother "_Little bit, Saber and his Platoon are going to assault a communications outpost not far from here, we're acting as backup if they need it, but you guys have today off duty._"

Red jumped up at the mention of free time but Blue only sighed and said, "_Afraid I'm not going to be able to enjoy it, between still getting set up and dealing with the wounded from Chaos Squad, us medics have our hands full._" He said sorrowfully.

Red sat down again, showing a face of regret for boasting in front of his brother. Blue looked to him "_Brother you can go, enjoy your time off_"

Red shook his head "_No way Blue, we stick together, I'm not letting you work yourself to death while I get to relax._" Blue knew there was no point trying to convince his brother to go have fun and just clapped him on the back as a sign of appreciation. The two were as close as any two brothers could be.

Horizon was proud of the two, they had come a long way and proved to be an asset to the squad and the battalion. Being as close to a brother as they are can be dangerous for most, in a war there's no way of predicting when your gunship could get shot down or a sniper can take your head off. Losing a close brother can send you spiralling out of control, it's what happened to them when they lost the rest of their batchmates and there's no telling if losing the other will take them somewhere they can't return.

However, there was still hope. The lives of these men and the rest in the 165th were on him to keep safe, for many he'd failed to do this and it was very likely that he'd fail many more in the future, no commander could walk out of this war without taking casualties, whether you were slugging it out in the cruel environments of Felucia or sitting comfortably on Coruscant, all Commanders had to bear this pain that comes with command. Some found it easier than others, for Horizon it pained him after every mission to see the casualty report, seeing young, eager brothers cut down without getting the chance to really know them. It's why he made sure to make time for his squad, when we die what's left of us but the memories others have of us? If these men die and no one remembers them, what was the point in their sacrifice? The civilians on Coruscant will never know their names or the horrors they faced, it was up to the rest of the Clones to carry their legacy and hope someone carries theirs when their time comes.

Horizon decided to leave the two to their work and catch up with the rest of his squad. Entering the tent that was assigned to his squad he saw Crest and Ash still asleep, tired from their mission to rescue Chaos the previous night. However, both Griff and Tek were still awake, before Horizon could utter a word, Tek held a finger up to his lips and pointed towards the door, indicating for them to leave the tent and let their brothers sleep.

"_So, what's the news?_" Asked Griff

"_Saber's leading an attack in the morning, we're going to be their backup if they need it._"

Griff perked up "_At least we're doing something, I'm getting bored here._"

Tek scoffed "_What? We rarely get this kind of free time. I've been able to catch up on all sorts of reading and studying_"

"Cmon _Tek live a little, put down the pad and enjoy life._" Rebutted Griff

Horizon intervened "_Now now Griff, if Tek chooses to soak in the culture and mystery of the galaxy, that's his decision…_"

Tek added "_Thank you sir_"

Horizon continued "_Even if it does make him a mirsh'kyramud_"

Tek glared at his superior "_Thanks di'kut, shouldn't you be organising this invasion?_" He joked

Horizon sighed "_There's a lot I need to do ner vod. I need to organise our reinforcements, draw up plans, manage out forces and inventory and that's just the tip of the iceberg that is my list of duties… I've not gotten a wink of sleep in over 3 days now; I'm surviving purely on caf._"

Griff and Tek shared a glance before looking at the Commander, Griff spoke up "_Uh sir that's not good, you need to sleep_", Tek continued "_He's right sir, get some rest. You will only perform badly if you're low on sleep._"

Horizon saw their reason and desperately wanted to agree but couldn't, too much needed his attention "_Believe me I want to but I can't right now._"

This wasn't good enough for his two brothers as they simultaneously grabbed their commanders' arms and pushed him back to the tent, now whispering to not wake Crest and Ash. "_Get to sleep Commander, we'll speak to Flex, Det and Chance, see if we can help with your duties._" Said Tek

"_You know I can just order the two of you to let me go right?_" Whispered Horizon with a hint of humour in his tone.

Griff quietly chuckled "_YOU know we can just get Blue to sedate you, remember the last time he caught one of us going days without sleep, he might be more green than the rest of us but the kid could even scare the armour off a Commando when he wants._"

Horizon conceded and followed their advice, allowing himself to fall into his bunk and falling asleep, not even taking the time to take off his armour. He trusted Tek to handle some of his duties however most were something that only he could handle, so he only asked Tek and Griff to check in with the rest of Platoon One and see how they were doing. Tek was always worried about how the Commander pushed himself and hoped to be able to do more for him, but this will do if it means he gets some sleep. The Battalion can only succeed and progress if the Commander doesn't push himself too far.


End file.
